SageView Advisory Group LLC Acquires Shares of 50,791 Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

SageView Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 50,791 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,582,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MFC. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 4.3% in the third quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 8,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC increased its holdings in Manulife Financial by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 20,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $671,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 4,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 53,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,675,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Haven Private LLC boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Haven Private LLC now owns 9,954 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. 52.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MFC shares. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded Manulife Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price objective on Manulife Financial in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Manulife Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of MFC opened at $33.76 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $36.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.33. Manulife Financial Corp has a 52-week low of $25.92 and a 52-week high of $38.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.60 billion, a PE ratio of 15.21 and a beta of 0.83.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $11.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.43% and a net margin of 9.18%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be given a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. This is an increase from Manulife Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Manulife Financial’s payout ratio is currently 63.96%.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation is a multinational insurance and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in the late 19th century as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life and health insurance, retirement and pension solutions, wealth and asset management, and group benefits.

In wealth and asset management, Manulife operates through Manulife Investment Management and offers mutual funds, segregated funds, institutional asset management, and retirement plan solutions.